Yesterday is history. Tomorrow is a mystery. Today is a gift.

Historical Events in March 1985

Music History

Mar 1 American singer Liza Minnelli enters Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California for substance abuse rehabilitation

  • Mar 1 Milwaukee businessman Herb Kohl purchases NBA's Milwaukee Bucks for $18 million
  • Mar 1 Pentagon accepts theory that atomic war would cause a nuclear winter
  • Mar 2 FDA in the US approves an ELISA screening test for AIDS antibody for all blood banks

Moonlighting

Mar 3 "Moonlighting" with Cybill Shepard & Bruce Willis premieres on ABC TV in the US

Sports History

Mar 3 Bill Shoemaker becomes 1st jockey to win $100 million

My One and Only

Mar 3 Musical created around songs of George Gershwin and Ira Gershwin "My One and Only", starring Tommy Tune, Twiggy, and Roscoe Lee Brown, closes at St James Theater, NYC, after 767 performances and 3 Tony award wins

  • Mar 3 National Union of Mine Workers in Britain ends a 51 week strike
  • Mar 4 STS 51-E vehicle rolls back to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida); mission cancelled
  • Mar 4 Virtual ban on leaded gas ordered by US Environment Protection Agency
  • Mar 4 WWII veterans return to the "Bridge over the River Kwai"
  • Mar 5 38th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAs): "The Killing Fields" Best Film, Wim Wenders Best Director
  • Mar 5 Mexican authorities find the body of US drug agent Enrique "Kike" Camarena Salaazar

Sports History

Mar 5 NHL New York Islanders Mike Bossy is 1st to score 50 goals in 8 straight seasons

  • Mar 6 Atlantis (OV-104) rollout at Palmdale

Baseball Hall of Fame

Mar 6 Enos Slaughter and Arky Vaughan elected to baseball's Hall of Fame

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 6 Future undisputed world heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson KOs Hector Mercedes at 1:47 in round 1 of 4 in Albany, NY in his first professional fight

Film & TV History

Mar 6 Yul Brynner appears in his 4,500th performance of "The King & I"

  • Mar 7 IBM-PC DOS Version 3.1 (update) released
  • Mar 8 6th Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgetown beats St. John's, 92-80
  • Mar 8 Ice Dance Championship at Tokyo won by Bestemianova & Bukin (URS)
  • Mar 9 26th SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Auburn beats Alabama, 53-49
  • Mar 9 Ladies' Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Katarina Witt (East Germany)
  • Mar 10 32nd ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: Georgia Tech beats North Carolina, 57-54
  • Mar 10 Dallas Maverick coach Dick Motta is 4th NBA coach to win 700 games
  • Mar 10 French socialists lose election (National Front 9%)
  • Mar 10 Ice Pairs Championship at Tokyo won by Elena Valova and Oleg Vasiliev (Soviet Union)
  • Mar 10 India beat Pakistan to win "World Championship of Cricket"
  • Mar 10 Men's Figure Skating Championship in Tokyo won by Alexandr Fadeev (URS)

Sports History

Mar 12 Larry Bird scores Boston Celtic record 60 points

Event of Interest

Mar 13 Funeral services held for Konstantin Chernenko in Moscow

  • Mar 13 Michael Secrest (US) begins 24-hr ride of 516 miles, 427 yards
  • Mar 14 Michael Secrest (US) completes 24-hr ride of 516 miles, 427 yards

Boxing Title Fight

Mar 15 Larry Holmes TKOs David Bey in 10 for heavyweight boxing title

  • Mar 15 The first Internet domain name, symbolics.com is registered
  • Mar 15 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Mar 16 Associated Press correspondent Terry Anderson taken hostage in Beirut

Sports History

Mar 16 Two-time Cy Young Award winner Denny McLain is convicted of embezzlement and drug trafficking; sentenced to 25 years but conviction later reversed

Sports History

Mar 17 Matti Nykanen of Finland set a world ski jump record of 623'

  • Mar 18 Capital Cities Communications Inc acquires ABC for $3.5 billion, first transfer of ownership of a TV network
  • Mar 19 "Spin Magazine" begins publishing
  • Mar 19 NSW wins cricket Sheffield Shield by beating Queensland by 1 wicket
  • Mar 19 US Senate votes 55-45 to authorize production of the MX "Peacekeeper" intercontinental ballistic missile
  • Mar 20 Libby Riddles is 1st woman to win Iditarod Trail Dog Sled Race

Hall of Fame

Mar 21 Arthur Ashe is nominated for the International Tennis Hall of Fame

  • Mar 21 Bloodbath at Langa (Uitenhage) South-Africa, 19 killed

Sports History

Mar 21 Canadian Rick Hansen sets off on his 'Man in Motion' world tour in his wheelchair raising money for spinal research, from Oakridge Mall, Vancouver (successfully completes May 1987) [1]

  • Mar 22 NASA launches Intelsat VA F-10

Music History

Mar 23 David Bowie is special surprise guest at Tina Turner concert at NEC arena in Birmingham, England; they perform duets of Bowie's "Tonight" and a medley of Chris Montez' "Let's Dance" and Bowie's song of the same name

  • Mar 23 Julian Lennon's 1st concert (San Antonio Texas)
  • Mar 23 Space Shuttle Discovery moves to Vehicle Assembly Building at Kennedy Space Center (Florida) for mating of STS 51-D mission
  • Mar 23 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
  • Mar 24 5th Golden Raspberry (Razzie) Awards: "Bolero" wins
  • Mar 24 Norman Gifford makes cricket ODI debuts at age 44 (v Aust, Sharjah)

Sports History

Mar 24 Third straight WTA Tour Championship for tennis legend Martina Navratilova; beats Helena Suková 6–3, 7–5, 6–4 at Madison Square Garden, NYC

Event of Interest

Mar 25 Edwin Meese III takes office as US Attorney General

Event of Interest

Mar 26 Pope John Paul II proclaims first ever World Youth Day

Film & TV History

Mar 27 American actor Billy Dee Williams receives a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Film & TV History

Mar 27 Professional wrestler Hulk Hogan acquiesces to put interviewer Richard Belzer in a hold, resulting in Belzer passing out, hitting his head on the floor, and requiring 9 stitches; Belzer sues Hogan for $5 million in damages for personal injury, they settle out of court, and Belzer buys a home in France

  • Mar 28 International Cometary Explorer measures solar wind ahead of Halley

Biloxi Blues

Mar 28 Neil Simon's play "Biloxi Blues" premieres in NYC

  • Mar 28 STS 51-D vehicle moves to launch pad
  • Mar 29 Christos Sartzetakis elected President of Greece

NHL Record

Mar 29 Wayne Gretzky breaks own NHL season record with 126th assist

  • Mar 30 139th Grand National: Welsh jockey Hywel Davies aboard 11-year old 50/1 outsider Last Suspect wins by 1½ lengths from Mr. Snugfit
  • Mar 30 Ireland beats England, 13-10 at Lansdowne Road, Dublin to clinch its 10th outright Five Nations Rugby Championship and 6th triple Crown
  • Mar 31 15th Easter Seal Telethon raises $27,400,000
  • Mar 31 4th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Old Dominion beats Georgia, 70-65; Monarchs' Tracy Claxton, MOP
  • Mar 31 El Salvador's President José Napoleón Duarte' Christian Democratic Party wins election
  • Mar 31 PGA Tournament Players Championship, TPC at Sawgrass: Calvin Peete shoots final round 66 to win by 3 strokes from D. A. Weibring; Peete only player to break par in all 4 rounds
  • Mar 31 WrestleMania I, Madison Square Garden, NYC: Hulk Hogan & Mr T beat Roddy Piper & Paul Orndorf